Blanket progress

Last week I finished up the baby blanket to send to afghans for Afghans, in memory of Kay's husband Peter.

My Canada Post tracking number tells me it has crossed the border, and I think I lose touch with it there.

On Tuesday, Heather (Choephora on Ravelry) and Patricia (aka Patriciaknits) came over and we arranged and admired squares (and drank some beer) and sewed the lot together.

Slight changes were made when two squares arrived in the morning, to fill in our one empty hole, but finally the blanket was done!

I wish I could make nice, even crocheted scallops around the edge, but it seemed too fiddly to make sure the crochet would fit -- I guess gauge is the issue. What size hook? How big, exactly, is a double-crochet, and does it take up more space than a knit stitch? Too complicated!

Whatever, I picked up stitches and made a narrow garter stitch border.

Funny how we got plain square after plain square, and then at the end, the multicoloured squares appeared. It will be nice and warm for a child, and I think that Kay and her family appreciate the thought.

It was in the middle of the MDK afghanalong that I really started reading blogs, back in the day. That first post was from February, 2004, and the afghanalong might have ended two years later with the auction of the All-Noro Afghan. I remember the Yarn Harlot had a sew-up at her house, and I'd just tentatively dipped my toe in the knitblog waters.

I thought, "So, I can just e-mail this person who lives in Toronto and go to their house to sew seams for a blanket? Really? No, no, no, I'm not understanding something here." But in fact, yes, I could have. And perhaps should have.

The community spirit, I think, makes these blankets very special. Spread the work, spread the warm-fuzzy feeling, spread the blankie loooove...